The chief organizer of the image-boosting event Juárez Competitiva, Carlos Chavira, denied on Monday accusations from the state of Chihuahua government that he mishandled public funds when paying for a concert by Mexican rock band Maná.

In an interview with the El Paso Times, Chavira responded to the accusations and presented documents that detailed the amounts of money he received from public and private sources.

And for the first time since the organization of the event, Chavira made public the specific fees and logistics costs of bringing the event's two main keynote speakers, former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

Reporter: AlejandroMartinez-Cabrera

Chavira, also the president of the Juárez chapter of Mexico's Employers Confederation, or Coparmex, and the owner of a packaging plant in the city, also addressed criticisms he has received from former Juárez Competitiva staffers and others in the city.

"An initiative like this always provokes envies from people. We shook up many interests. There are groups that haven't done anything in the past and they were the first to criticize," he said.

"Of course they would take these damaging remarks from the state to turn them into a generic disqualification of everything. They are taking advantage of that, and it's sad that it's affecting the city."

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Chavira denied keeping any of the money, saying he didn't receive a salary and paid $320,000 from his personal savings to cover expenses for the event before receiving public and private money.

The state government of Chihuahua accuses Chavira, among other things, of overcharging them for Juárez Competitiva's main event, Maná's opening concert.

According to state officials' research, bringing Maná to Juárez would cost around $650,000. State officials said the event was billed at about $1.9 million.

Chavira acknowledged the fees, but argued that the final costs were the best price available.

Chavira said that while he also spoke with event promoters who promised to bring Maná for less money, the band would only book the concert through OCESA, the region's largest event promoter.

Lazaro Megret, chief executive officer of El Paso-based event promoter Latino Events, who was hired by Juárez Competitiva's directive council to assess the cost of the concert, said the price was about right for the services offered by OCESA.

Megret said he has booked more than 50 concerts for Maná and, while the cost of any show can vary greatly depending on the offer and the demand, the band usually charges between $350,000 and $850,000, plus between $50,000 and $500,000 in ticket sales, which means total fees of between $400,000 and $1.2 million.

Megret said other expenses must be added, like transportation, meals and lodging, and production costs, which include sound, lights, special effects and security. Those costs oscillate between $350,000 and $600,000, Megret said. Finally, the promoter's fees are added to the final price tag.

The concert was also negotiated one month in advance, when such events are usually booked eight to 10 months earlier. Scheduling the event with more time could have saved Juárez Competitiva some money, Megret said.

"With more time and planning, of course," he said. "But they had to do the event and time was upon them. They paid them a lot of money because they needed them."

Chihuahua state officials with the treasury and economy departments could not be reached for comment, but they have also raised questions about the fees charged by Giuliani and Gorbachev, the event's two main keynote speakers. They've said the costs were lower than what Chavira reported, although they have not provided estimates for their fees according to their research.

According to documents provided by Chavira, Giuliani charged $100,000 for his Oct. 24 presentation, plus $12,601.60 in logistics and transportation costs.

Gorbachev's appearance cost a total of $287,103.51, which included $125,000 for his presentation in Juárez, $62,103.51 to hire a special plane and $100,000 for a visit to Chihuahua City that never happened -- something state officials are also reproaching.

David Marcus, an El Paso-based accountant that helped organize Giuliani and Gorvachev's visits, said Chihuahua Gov. César Duarte canceled the event a week before due to a commitment outside of the state and had been unable to provide a plane that met Gorbachev's needs.

Juárez Competitiva received about $3.8 million in cash for the organization of the event, which included $1.9 million from the state, $763,000 from the federal government and $763,000 from FECHAC, a private foundation of business people in Chihuahua that funds and organizes social projects in the state. Private donors provided the rest, Chavira said.

The total cost of the event was $7.5 million, including in-kind expenses, Chavira said.

State officials with the economy department have said they have documented irregularities in how their money was used and have turned their findings to the state prosecutor's office. However, a spokesman with the state prosecutor's office said they have yet to receive any documents from the state's economy and treasury departments.

Juárez Competitiva was a two-week event last October that was intended to promote the city's industry and repair its blood-stained image with family-oriented events and shows that highlighted the products built and assembled in the city's industrial plants.

Questions about the use of money cast a shadow over the event. Juárez Competitiva organizers constantly evaded inquiries from the local news media about the cost of the event. After it ended, former staffers distanced themselves from Chavira and organized their own city-promotion event, Juárez Creativa.

Chavira said he had to make tough decisions regarding the organization of the event that didn't garner him much sympathy. Still, he stood behind the results of the event, which he said brought the city more than $19 million in visitor revenue and future investment projects agreed upon during those two weeks.

"Juárez Competitiva was by far the borderline in which people started going to the streets again with their families. This has been by far the biggest project ever made by the citizens in our community," he said. "When you make projects like these, you don't pursue to be the king of sympathy or popularity."

Alejandro Martínez-Cabrera can be reached at a.martinez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6129.

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